All season long, head coach Toby Krauel has been confident that this is the best men's tennis team to ever come together at Portland State. When the Vikings take the court as the No. 4 seed at the Big Sky Championships on Thursday, they will have a chance to prove that to be true.

The Vikings have already pulled off a number of firsts in the historic 2019 season. On Thursday they take aim at another; their first-ever Big Sky Tournament win. Portland State (12-7/6-4 BSC) will take on No. 5 Montana in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in Phoenix, Ariz. The match will begin at 8:00 a.m. (PT).

This is the second consecutive year the Vikings have reached the Big Sky Championships and only the second overall appearance under the current format. The only other tournament appearance came all the way back in 2003, when the Vikings hosted.

Additionally, at 12-7 Portland State has already guaranteed the best single season winning percentage in program history, regardless this weekend's results. A win this weekend would also tie them for the most wins in single season, matching last year's 13-10 season.

This will be the second meeting between Portland State and Montana this season. The Grizzlies, runner-ups a year ago and the No. 2 team in the conference's preseason poll, came to Portland back on March 1. In that match, the Vikings responded after losing the doubles point, winning four of six singles matches for a clutch 4-3 win.

Sam Roberts delivered the winning point at No. 6 singles, going into the third set of a tight match with the dual tied 3-all. Krauel mixed up his lineup a bit in the match, shifting Lucas Castelo Branco up to No. 1 after he earned Big Sky Player of the Week a few days earlier. Castelo Branco delivered, winning a three-setter at the top line.

Matteo Fortini also handled the change well, dropping down to No. 2 and picking up an easy 6-2, 6-0 win. Nikola Dimitrijevic picked up the other point for the Vikings, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4.

Last weekend, Portland State swept a road trip to Idaho State and Weber State to clinch its highest-ever finish in the Big Sky. It was the first win for PSU in Pocatello and the first time they had ever defeated Weber State, checking off a few giant boxes in program history in a time when they needed it the most.

The Vikings dropped the doubles point against the Bengals, but responded with a dominant performance in the singles competition. Fortini, Dimitrijevic and Roberts all won in straight sets while Castelo Branco and Edwards grinded out three set victories. Fittingly enough, it was Edwards who clinched the dual and Portland State's berth in the Big Sky Championships.

Edwards, a junior from Hillsboro, is putting together one of the most successful seasons ever recorded on the Park Blocks. He has 15 overall singles wins, tied for the second most in a single-season. He also is tied for the most single season wins at No. 3 with 10 and has the best winning percentage in a single season at that line.

Against Weber State, the Vikings rebounded in doubles with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then took the top four singles matches as well for the 5-2 win.

For Montana, they also enter the tournament coming off a momentous victory. The Grizzlies lost to rival Montana State last Thursday, a result that seemingly eliminated them from the conference tournament hunt. But on Sunday, they knocked off No. 2 Southern Utah to jump back into a tournament spot. This is Montana's 29th consecutive appearance at the Big Sky Tournament.

In the other quarterfinal match, No. 3 Sacramento State will play No. 6 Idaho State. The tournament will reseed following the quarterfinals. The lowest remaining seed will take on No. 1 Northern Arizona, who finished the season 10-0. The highest remaining seed will then play No. 2 Southern Utah.

2019 BIG SKY MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals - April 25
No. 3 Sacramento State vs. No. 6 Idaho State - 8 a.m. PT
No. 4 Portland State vs. No. 5 Montana - 8 a.m. PT

Semifinals - April 26
No. 1 Northern Arizona vs. Lowest Remaining Seed - 8 a.m. PT
No. 2 Southern Utah vs. Highest Remaining Seed - 8 a.m. PT

Championship - April 27
Semifinal Winners - 8 a.m. PT

*Live stats for all matches can be found on BigSkyStats.com.

SCOUTING MONTANA (8-13/5-5 BSC)

-Montana pulled off a huge 6-1 upset of No. 2 Southern Utah to qualify for the conference tournament. They finished in a tie for fifth with Idaho State and Montana State. The three teams all finished 1-1 against each other. The tiebreaker then went to record against top-seeded Northern Arizona, who finished the year perfect. Montana edged out its competition with the win over No. 2 Southern Utah, a team that beat both ISU and MSU.
-The Grizzlies had limped to the finish line of conference play before the upset of Southern Utah. They had dropped three of the previous four matches, including a 5-2 loss to Eastern Washington.
-The Southern Utah win is by far the biggest of the season for the Grizzlies. They are 2-3 against the other teams that qualified for the tournament, with the other win a 5-2 home result over Idaho State.
-Alex Canellopoulos has had one of the best careers in Grizzly history and is 8-12 at No. 1 singles this season. The Grizzlies also have three singles players - Oisin Shaffrey, Ed Pudney and Max Korkh - with at least 12 wins this year. Korkh put together an 8-2 record in conference play, including a three-set win over Tommy Edwards in the March 1 meeting.
-The Grizzlies have played many different doubles teams this year with the most successful being Hallgren/Shaffrey at 5-4. Korkh/Pudney have the next best record at 4-4.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MONTANA

The Vikings are 2-12 all-time vs. Montana. Portland State won the regular season meeting between the two teams 4-3 at the Vancouver Tennis Center. This will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the two programs and the third neutral site match. The Grizzlies won the previous two.

DREAM TEAMS

This season has seen Portland State play some of the best doubles in school history, and the record books reflect that. If they follow the lineup they have used for most of the season, Portland State will have its winningest team in program history at all three spots playing all at the same time.

Edwards/West is already the most successful doubles team of all time with 26 wins together. They have 13 more than any other No. 1 Viking pairing. They also have the best winning percentage (.684) at No. 1.

It might be their first season together, but Castelo Branco/Fortini have already tied the wins record and could become the most successful No. 2 team of all-time this weekend. They have nine wins together, tying them for the most as a No. 2 team. They also have the second best winning percentage by a No. 2 doubles team at .692.

Bukhari/Roberts picked up six wins together last season and have 11 more already in 2019. They have now officially become the most successful team in program history at the No. 3 line with 17 total wins.

SUPER SEASON

This could go down as the best overall season in Portland State history. In order to get there, you have to have several special years by individuals, which is exactly the case for this team.

Tommy Edwards has 15 wins, tied for second most in a single season in PSU history. Matteo Fortini is having the fourth best season ever with 13 wins while Lucas Castelo Branco is tied for seventh with 12 wins.

Currently, the Vikings have five of the seven best single season win percentages. Edwards is having the second-best season ever at .789. Lucas Castelo Branco sits in fourth at .706 followed by Otto Holtari at .700. Fortini (.684) is in sixth while Nikola Dimitrijevic (.667) is in seventh.

Going down the line, Fortini is enjoying the fifth-best season at No. 1 singles with 10 wins. Castelo Branco is having the best season ever at No. 2 singles with 10 wins. At No. 3, Edwards is tied for the best season ever with 10 wins. Dimitrijevic has six wins at No. 4 for the second best season at that line. Sam Roberts is also tied for third-best at No. 5 with five wins.  Holtari is having the second-best season at No. 6 with six wins.

Dimitrijevic, Castelo Branco and Edwards are all tied for third in program history with seven Big Sky singles wins as well.

They are also closing in on records as doubles teams. Bukhari/Roberts and Edwards/West have 11 wins together, tied for the third most in a single season by any team in Viking history. Castelo Branco have jumped into the top 10 with nine wins together.

At their respective lines, Edwards/West is having the third-best season with 10 wins at No. 1. Castelo Branco/Fortini are having the best season by a No. 2 doubles with nine wins. At No. 3, Bukhari and Roberts are also enjoying the best season ever by a pair of Vikings with 11 wins.

FORZA FORTINI

Italian sophomore Matteo Fortini didn't wait long to make a big impact for the Vikings. He put together an impressive fall season with a 7-5 record that included a run to the semifinals of the Dar Walters Fall Classic at Boise State.

In the spring, he has continued his run of stellar play. He has a 13-6 record overall, 10-6 at No. 1 singles. He also played three matches, all of which he won, at No. 2. In doubles, he and Lucas Castelo Branco have an 9-4 record while playing on court two and he also is 1-1 at No. 1. He also picked up another win at No. 2 while playing with Nikola Dimitrijevic.

Fortini is currently third in school history with 10 wins at No. 1 singles. He is also t-10 with three career wins at No. 2 singles. Fortini is also in the tied for sixth for career wins at No. 2 doubles with 10 and has the second best winning percentage (.714).

As a doubles team, Fortini/Castelo Branco are also tied for first with nine career wins as a team at No. 2 doubles and have the second best winning percentage.

TOMMY, BOY WONDER

Tommy Edwards has the most singles wins of any active Viking and is currently second on the all-time list with 33 wins. He has picked up 13 of his wins at the No. 2 line while 17 have come while playing No. 3. He has more wins at No. 3 than any other Viking and has the second-most wins at No. 2.

The junior from Hillsboro is also second all-time in Big Sky singles wins with 16. Edwards also has the second best career winning percentage at No. 3 singles (.654) and the third best percentage at No. 2 (.433).

GO BRANCO GO

Lucas Castelo Branco has been an outstanding addition to the Viking program this year after transferring in from Oklahoma Baptist. The Brazilian native had his stellar play recognized with the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honor on Feb. 20 after leading PSU to its first-ever win against two-time defending champs Idaho.

Castelo Branco is 12-5 on the season in singles and 10-6 in doubles, playing mostly at No. 2 in both. He is currently fourth in school history with 10 career wins at No. 2 singles and sixth with 10 wins at No. 2 doubles. He has the third-best winning percentage (.625) at No. 2 doubles.

He and Fortini combined are first in school history with nine wins as a No. 2 doubles team and also have the second best winning percentage (.692).

WESTWARDS!

The talented doubles team of Avery West and Tommy Edwards, nicknamed Westwards when playing together, officially became the winningest team in Portland State history with a 6-0 win against Pacific (4/5/19) and have 26 career wins together.

In 2018, the pair set single-season program records for overall wins (15), wins at No. 1 doubles (15) and win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.682).

Edwards (36), is in third place in doubles wins by an individual, and West (27) has jumped up to a tie for seventh. They are the best No. 1 team ever with all 26 wins coming at the top spot. That is twice as many as the next No. 1 pairing in Viking history.

The pair is also third in program history with 12 Big Sky doubles wins and could tie for the most ever with a win over Montana.

RECORD CHASERS

Tommy Edwards has moved into second all-time with 33 career singles wins. He is also third in school history in overall win percentage (.550), second in Big Sky singles wins (16) and first in overall wins at No. 3 (17).

Matteo Fortini, Lucas Castelo Branco and Nikola Dimitrijevic — all PSU newcomers — have already made their way into the record books for career wins. Fortini is third with 10 wins at No. 1 singles, Castelo Branco is fourth with 10 wins at No. 2 and Dimitrijevic is t-4 with six wins at No. 4.

Sam Roberts, in addition to being second with eight wins at No. 4, has moved into the top 10 at No. 5 this season. He has eight wins on that line, tied for second most all-time.

Otto Holtari has held down the No. 6 line well this season. He is third in school history with eight wins at No. 6 singles.

The Vikings also have four players currently in the top seven of the overall singles winning percentage category of the record book. Otto Holtari (.594, 2nd), Tommy Edwards (.550, 3rd), Avery West (.500, 5th) and Sam Roberts (.463, 6th) have been some of the most efficient players in Viking history.

THE FINNISH-ER

Otto Holtari, a sophomore from Espoo, Finland, has made himself into one of the best players in school history by taking advantage of opportunities at No. 6 singles this season. Holtari has the second best overall singles winning percentage (.594) in school history.

Holtari is t-2 in school history with eight career wins at No. 5 singles and has made a charge into the top 10 at No. 6 this year. He has six wins in 2019 and seven in his career, putting him third all-time. He also has the best win percentage at No. 5 singles (.615)

He is also t-9 in school history with eight career Big Sky singles wins.

DON'T MESS WITH DIMITRIJEVIC

Nikola Dimitrijevic has had a perfect start to his conference season and has improved all year long. The transfer from the University of Indianapolis has had an impressive season so far for the Vikings while playing anywhere in the lineup.

He is currently 10-5 with a 7-2 record in Big Sky play. He has six wins at No. 4 singles, tied for the fourth most in program history. He is a perfect 6-0 at the line, but doesn't qualify for win percentage consideration until he has played 10 matches. He could lose his next four and would still have the best winning percentage at No. 4 singles in PSU history.

His seven conference wins are tied for the third most in a single season in school history.

KRAUEL'S QUEST FOR 50

Head coach Toby Krauel, now in his sixth season at Portland State, has already earned more wins than any other coach in program history. At 53-69 all-time, Krauel is the only men's tennis coach in Portland State history with 50 career wins.

Krauel has helped lead Portland State to heights unseen before his arrival. The Vikings have put together the two most successful years in program history under his guidance with a 12-win season in 2016 and last year's 13-win campaign.

He is the third Viking tennis coach to reach the 50-win mark, joining current women's coach Jay Sterling (54) and former women's coach Shaun Ball (76).

TOURNEY TEAM

In 2018, the Vikings made the Big Sky conference tournament for the first-time ever under its current format. This year, they built upon that by qualifying in consecutive years for the first time. Now, the Vikings set their sights on the first conference tournament win in program history.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

This season's iteration of Portland State tennis benefits from having talent in bunches. The Vikings have perhaps the deepest team in school history. There are 10 players currently on the roster with eight making an appearance already this season.

The amount of talent on the courts at practice sessions can only help the team grow as a whole.

"The depth is better than we've ever had here," Krauel said. "We could put our number eight guy at three and he would do fine. So that competition day in, day out in practice, these guys are really pushing each other… There are personal goals going on as well as team goals, and that competition just makes us so much stronger from top-to-bottom."